Community Conservation Spotlights: Stories That Inspire Change

Land trusts are saving land and changing lives in communities nationwide. They are reaching out and listening to people from all parts of their community to address the challenges they care about.

We have created a series of five Community Conservation Spotlight publications with short stories about the impact of these innovative land trusts. From eight to 12 pages each with lots of pictures and bullets, they are quick and easy to read. And informative and inspiring!

Check them out and let us know if you have a story to share about land trusts working with other sectors. Send your stories to communityconservation@lta.org.

There are a lot of other inspiring stories out there! Check out the success stories below and watch this video.

Jwun Gamble and other Howard School interns are taking back Lookout Mountain in Tennessee from highly invasive species, creating hiking trails for families and individuals seeking fun outside. But it’s much more than land rejuvenation and trail building that’s gaining them national attention. This work is transforming lives. The students are participating in the accredited Lookout Mountain Conservancy’s leadership program that results in 100% high school graduation rates in a part of Chattanooga where they are often lower than 50%. The program uses land conservation to heal, inspire, and connect people from all walks of life to the land and to each other.

How the Land Trust Alliance Supports Community Conservation

We showcase groundbreaking community conservation projects, so land trusts can inform and inspire each other. We’re also making community conservation a focus in our educational and training programs — from workshops and webinars to articles and publications. We plan to start measuring the impact of community conservation as part of the National Land Trust Census. And we plan to support selected pilot projects with the potential to scale nationally.

Community Conservation Learning Network

Join the conversation about community conservation! The Community Conservation Learning Network is a public group on The Learning Center (no log-in required). This is a place to find out about what land trusts are doing in community conservation — contribute your ideas and questions for how to engage with more people in your community to make your land trust stronger and your community more vibrant.